Ball Don't Lie

Los Angeles Clippers guard J.J. Redick was ejected towards the end of his team’s close win over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday evening, in an odd display that surprised both teams.

Redick wasn’t involved in the previous play, he seemingly had no beef with the refereeing crew due to a series of calls or non-calls, and he apparently does not have a history with Josh Tiven – the official that whistled him for two quick Ts down the stretch of a two-possession game that wasn’t decided until the game’s final minute.

To hear Redick tell it, the referees were overstepping their bounds when J.J. tossed out some innocuous comments, and Minnesota coach Flip Saunders (who also received a technical) was just as out of bounds for using both poor language, and literally not staying out of bounds.

A look around the league and the Web that covers it. It's also important to note that the rotation order and starting nods aren't always listed in order of importance. That's for you, dear reader, to figure out.

C: The Arizona Republic. Strong words from Paul Coro ("It is difficult for the Suns to even look at the standings any longer when they have to take such a long, hard look at themselves") and head coach Jeff Hornacek ("We have to find out who on this team is going to be tough") after the Phoenix Suns got blown out again on Monday, this time by the Miami Heat in a physical affair that Erik Spoelstra's club won going away.

Well, this is depressing. Former Houston Rockets, Orlando Magic and New York Knicks guard Steve Francis got dragged to the floor, stepped on and choked by his own chain, which was later stolen, during an altercation at a hip-hop show in Houston over the weekend.

Naturally, TMZ has the video, which — again — is something of a bummer, and also contains some NSFW language:

Francis, 38, was one of many people on stage during a concert by Houston rap duo the Sauce Twinz. For one reason or another, beef began to broil, and before long, Francis found a hand around the gold chain around his neck, then found himself on the floor. Sources told TMZ that the as-yet-unidentified man who grabbed the chain ended up making off with it, and that police were not called to the scene in connection with the fight or the theft. (The Sauce Twinz apparently regret the incident.)

The Denver Nuggets have apparently decided that six weeks is too long to wait. Brian Shaw is out as the team’s head coach, according to Yahoo Sports’ Adrian Wojnarowski, following a disastrous 2-19 stretch of play. That stretch became infamous on Friday night, when several Nuggets reportedly broke a team huddle by chanting “six weeks,” an apparent reference to the time left in the 2014-15 NBA season. Respected assistant Melvin Hunt will take over this mess on an interim basis.

Kevin Garnett may be 38 years old, but he remains one of the most versatile defenders in the NBA. When KG needs to switch onto a guard, it's a fair bet that he will be able to stick on the ballhandler and force a tough shot. Not being the defensive force he used to be does not mean that he can't make an impact.

Sometimes, though, Garnett's excellent defense is not enough, which the Minnesota Timberwolves learned in Monday night's game vs. the Los Angeles Clippers at Target Center. With under a minute remaining and the Clippers up 106-103, Garnett switched onto Chris Paul after a pick from DeAndre Jordan. As he has so many times in his career, he stuck with one of the league's best ballhandlers. But Paul made several moves to get just enough space and altered his shot to make sure it would not be blocked:

Enough has gone right for the Golden State Warriors this season that fans can be forgiven for expecting them to pull out an unlikely comeback victory. Down 108-99 to the Brooklyn Nets at Barclays Center with 3:29 left in regulation, the Warriors went on a 9-0 run over more than two minutes to tie the game on a Stephen Curry jumper (to give him eight points in the run alone) with just 1:08 on the clock. Given the Warriors' performance this season, it seemed as if they were headed for a victory on the sixth and final game of their Eastern Conference road trip.

It was not to be. After a Golden State turnover, the Nets called on former Warrior Jarrett Jack to create their final shot with the shot clock turned off. The defense from Curry was quality, but Jack got the better of him with this pull-up jumper:

The NBA announced Monday that Harden has been suspended one game for kicking James in the groin with 2:08 remaining in the third quarter. Harden was issued a flagrant-1 foul during the game, but that has since been upgraded to a flagrant-2. Harden will miss the Rockets' Tuesday game at the Atlanta Hawks, another East contender.

A look around the league and the web that covers it. It's also important to note that the rotation order and starting nods aren't always listed in order of importance. That's for you, dear reader, to figure out.

A fourth-quarter huddle late in the Nuggets' 104-82 loss to the Utah Jazz on Friday broke with this phrase: "1-2-3 ... six weeks!"

As in six weeks to go until the end of the season. That's 24 games, 46 days and 1,152 minutes away.

Tax day, April 15, is getaway day: the last day of the Nuggets' season. Rest assured, there are players who are already counting.

There are Nuggets fans who are already counting. I’d be lying if I didn’t tell you that I’m also looking forward to the day when Nugget games aren’t located just one channel over when I flip around on League Pass from night to night. They are a dreary, dreadful watch.